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Saturday, March 5, 2016

Return to Basics

This protest in Idlib Province is one of dozens that sprang up all over the country on Friday led by pro-democracy activists taking advantage of the ceasefire. The activists have returned to basics. So, depending on your point of view, the ceasefire is either working, or terribly failing.

DDGD March 5, 2016

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Today’s
Post is brought to you by…The
Syrian Pro-Democracy Movement: Give us a decent chance, even if in the form
of a fragile ceasefire, and we won’t just bring hope back, we’ll bring the Dodo
bird back.

“What happened to Syria is a great tragedy;
I cannot say anything in face of this sorrow and sadness. Who am I to address
these people who saw death and tragedy? This picture will be enough to speak by
itself, let the look of my eyes deliver what I have to say.” - Muna
Wassef (Actress)

Mom. I never wanted to see this
look in your eyes, because I know what's really behind it. I miss you. My
problem, Mom, is that words are failing me, too, but my eyes aren’t that
expressive. You have to feel for both of us now, I am totally numb.

We all
live in a leaky submarine: The GOP’s only way out of its current Trumpmire
is to expel Donald Trump from the Party, thus forcing him to run as
independent. Even though the move would, in practical terms, amount to handing
the elections to the Democrats; on the longer run, it could work in favor of
GOP’s leadership who, by taking the high moral ground, would be well positioned
to work on reconstituting the Party and reconnecting with the base over the
next 4-8 years. What other options do they really have?

Trump: Fuck you too!

A brokered convention that will
choose Marco Rubio over Donny Boy is bound to backfire and produce the same
results: a Democrat victory, all while further discrediting the GOP and its
leadership in the eyes of their base. Alternatively, and after making so much
noise, it might just be too late at this stage to reverse course and rally
behind Trump. Not because Trump has been too bruised to win the general
elections, but because a Trump victory in the general elections might empower
him just enough to seal the fate of the traditional GOP structure, leadership
and philosophy, irrespective of how he will conduct himself as President.

Republican leaders seem to have little
choice at this stage but to reclaim their party and focusing on putting their
house in order first. By disassociating themselves from Trump and disavowing
him completely, and by trying to reconnect with their base, perhaps by holding
a series of town-hall meetings and local party elections over the next few
years, GOP leadership might be practically conceding the coming general
election, but they might just win their party back. AS conceding the coming
elections, well, this would be but a small price to pay for all those years
spent fear-mongering, race-baiting and shamelessly brown-nosing the rich and
powerful. The Republicans cannot regain the trust of their base without
undertaking a serious change and finding alternative methods for promoting
their conservative ideals. And while I personally may not be a believer in
these ideals, many of my closest friends are, and they are too decent to be
represented by this sad little bunch currently on display. I also know that a
healthy democracy should offer its electorates more than a choice between
anarchism and fascism.

Meanwhile, the Democrats are
facing their own problems and cannot afford to rest on their laurels. Bernmania
might be revolutionizing the base in connection to domestic politics, and
Sanders himself seems like an honest figure, but without Congressional support
most of his domestic ideas will never see the light. As for his views on
foreign policy, they certainly should never see the light of day. As for
Hillary, the ongoing investigation into her emails scandal looms like a time
bomb that could blow up at any giving moment. Should this happen in the next
few weeks, it could indeed derail her entire campaign, irrespective of
delegates count. Even if she wins the Democratic nomination, this issue could
still dog her later undermining her chances at getting to the White House, or
her presidency afterwards. Be that as it may, I am with her.

Hillary: I am with her.

Still, I don’t know why, but I do
have a feeling that we might end up with a four-way or more in this particular
race for the White House, with Trump, Cruz, Rubio, Clinton and perhaps even Sanders
vying for the top post.

And if some Republicans are
proposing the return of Mitt Romney as a possible fallback position, why not
propose a similar scenario for the democrats with Jo Biden as a possibility?

Well, fantasy aside, I can see
the four-way happening, because, should Trump win the nomination, there will
still be many Republicans who are discontented but not enough to vote for
Clinton or Sanders. So, by encouraging Cruz or Rubio, or both, to run as
independents, Trump’s position could be undermined enough to allow for a
victory by the Democrats.

Still, a man like Trump is too
savvy to let go of what’s becoming a movement, even if he ended up losing the
elections. He will either reinvent the Republican Party or form his own. He
might have mismanaged many of his businesses, but, populist politics have a way
of rewarding failure. And a person like Trump who long made himself into a
brand, despite his many failures and failings, could capitalize on a loss,
especially one coming as a result of political shenanigans, as easily as on a
win to keep himself and his brand relevant. Treating him as a transient
phenomenon, therefore, could be very misguided.

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